Let’s say today is Wednesday, March 20th, and most people are probably looking forward to the weekend. So why do you have to wait 3 days until Saturday, who could have made this rule? Here is information about why there are 7 days in a week!
The whole world lives in a week as 7 days. You may think this is about a mathematical calculation, but a week did not always consist of 7 days. Here are the details about considering a week as seven days…
There are calculations
Time calculations are made by measuring the movements of the planets, the Moon and the stars. For example, one day is equal to one complete rotation of the Earth around its axis. A year is the Earth’s rotation around the Sun lasting 365 days and 6 hours, but the week calculation is not based on these mathematical operations.
Why was the number 7 chosen?
The Babylonians, who lived in modern-day Iraq, were astronomically skilled. Thanks to these abilities and their respect for the number 7, today a week lasts 7 days.
Another reason for this was that since there were no telescopes at that time, they only knew 7 celestial bodies: Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.
It was not always 7 days
Other civilizations at that time chose other numbers: the Egyptians, whose week was 10 days, or the Romans, whose week was 8 days, are examples of this. Additionally, the Babylonians divided a month into seven weeks to better follow the cycles of the Moon.
How did it spread?
Babylonians in the Near East B.C. It was such a dominant culture in the 6th and 7th centuries that this and many other time concepts they created – such as a 60-minute clock – spread to most civilizations and became accepted over time.
The concept of a seven-day week soon spread to the Near East. However, the Jews, who were captives of the powerful Babylonians, also adopted this concept of the week. After a while, other surrounding cultures, including the Persian Empire and the Greeks, also adopted the 7-day week.
It is known that centuries later, when Alexander the Great began to spread Greek culture from the Near East to India, the concept of the seven-day week spread along with him.
Finally, when the Romans began to conquer the lands under the influence of Alexander the Great, they eventually switched to the 7-day week.
Source: Royal Museums Greenwich, Time and history, Discovery Magazine.
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